Chiranjeevi to act in films again

Two years after saying goodbye to films and plunging into politics full time, actor-turned-politician Chiranjeevi has decided to take a break from politics to act in movies -- his first love. The decision to return to movies coincided with his 56th birthday, which was celebrated by his fans on Sunday.

He becomes the second actor after the late NT Rama Rao, founder of the Telugu Desam Party, to take a break from politics to wear greasepaint.

Chiranjeevi's party has 18 MLAs in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly and he is increasingly looked up to by the Congress party to bail out its government in the state in case rebel Congress MP YS Jagan Mohan Reddy decides to split the party. Chiranjeevi himself is a sitting MLA, representing the pilgrimage town of Tirupati.

"His large number of fans are missing him in action for over two years. Respecting their sentiments he has agreed to act in a movie," announced Chiranjeevi`s actor-son Ram Charan Tej. He also announced that Chiranjeevi's new film, where he would be playing the role of the protagonist, would be ready by his next birthday.

Ram Charan Tej, who had two blockbuster releases recently, presented his father with a Rolls Royce Phantom car costing Rs 4 crore on his birthday.

In a film career spanning more than three decades, Chiranjeevi has acted in 149 films.

Chiranjeevi was last seen in his son's film Magadheera, where he did a guest appearance. His last film in the lead was Shankar Dada Zindabad.

Chiranjeevi expressed his desire to act in films for the first time when the audio of Rajnikant-starrer Robo was released in Hyderabad early this month. He said that after watching the promos of Robo, the artiste in him desired to get back to acting.

Chiranjeevi entered politics in August 2008 by formally launching his party, Praja Rajyam, in Tirupati. But unlike NTR, who swept the polls to bring the TDP into power, Chiranjeevi's party came a cropper in the last assembly elections. The party subsequently witnessed a number of high-profile desertions.